Latch.



P. 1. WESOLOWSKI.

l LATCH.. APPLICATION FILED AUG-30,- 1915- RENEWED MAR. 21.1918.

1 ,266,086. Patented May14, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

PETER J'. WESOLOWSKI, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

LATCH.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led August 30, 1915, Serial No. 47,927. Renewed March 2l,1918. Serial No. 223,863.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER LI. WEsoLowsiii, a ,citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of lVayne andState of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLatches, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to latches, and resides in the novel connectionbetween the latch bolt and the keeper; in the novel arrangement of thelatch bolt which permits the latch to yield independently of the handle;in the novel connection between the latch plate or casing and thekeeper; and further in certain details of construction.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction, arrangement andcombination of parts as will more fully hereinafter appear.

Figure 1 is a perspective view with certain parts broken away, of alatch embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal .section on the line --w of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a plan View with a portion of the casing broken away; and

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate certain details of construction.

A designates the casi herein shown as formed' of an angle platldaving alaterallyextending flange B. C is thelatch bolt arranged within ahousing D of the'plate and bolt.

provided with a recessed cut-away portion E-on its inner face to receivethe actuating lever F. The latter is pivoted at G to the plate on oneside of the latch bolt and extends through the housing and the cut-awayportion E to the opposite side of the latch In 'the particular structureillustrated the lever F has a laterally-extending.

portion H that extends through an elongated slot I in the latchplateandvthen ter- .minates in an 'outwardly-extending handle J. Preferablythe lever has the handle portion turned atright angles to the body ofthe lever, as indicated at K. The housing D 'is rovide'd with 'elongatedrecesses L at itssi es, to permit movement of the lever F. M is a sphaving one end bearing against the end N of the housing andhavthefopposite end engaging the latch erably the forward end of thespringisiarranged within a recess or cutaway portion O atthe rear end ofthe latch vin relation to the bolt. This spring M tends to project thelatch bolt. When the keeper is not in engagement With the bolt C vtheprojecting movement of the latter is limited by the rear edge P of theslottedv portion E engaging the lever F. The forward movement of themember F is limited by the forward edge of the slot I.

The keeper Q, is provided with an outwardly-extending keeper proper,herein shown as composed of\a wedge-shaped body portion R and anenlarged head S. The head S is recessed at T to receive the forward endU of the latch bolt, and prefer- Patented May 14, 191s.

ably the outer side V of the head isarranged` to coperate with thebeveled face W of the latch bolt to move the latter inward against thetension of the spring M during the engagement of the latch with thekeeper.

l As shown in Fig. 2, the latch bolt does not project beyond the flangeB, but the keeper proper when engaged with the latch extends within thelatch plate. Thus as-shown, the flange B has a V-shaped slot X forreceiving the wedge-shaped portion R of the keeper, while the plate iscut away at Y to allow the head S to pass'therethrough. The outer sideof the housing is also provided with a cut-away portion a which alineswith the cut-away portion Y. By forming the portion R wedge-shaped andthe recess X V- shaped, when the latch is engaged with the keeper if theparts are out of vertical alinement-which quite frequently happens inautomobile doors-the latch plate will be drawn into proper alinementwith the keeper, thereby insuring that the recess T is properlypositioned in relation t0 the end U` of the latch bolt'. To permit ofthis operation the head S is narrowed at its outer edge so as to permitit to enter the slot Y when 'not in exact registration therewith.

Itis very desirable, particularly in4 latches used on automobile doors,to allow some relative movement between thel latch casing and thekeeper, since in driving over rough roads there is a tendency fortheeforward edge of the door to `move slightly in relation to thecasing. To permit of a relative Vmovement between the keeper and thelatch casing inthe direction of the movement of the latch bolt, I formthe portion R of sufficient width to allow the plate tomove rearwardlykeeper, las shown in Fig. 6. The tension of the spring M is of course,

so proportioned thatthe'bolt will remain in tight contact with therecess T Wheneverv the keeper is engaged With the latch casing. It isalso desirable to prevent rattling of the latch bolt and to have themovement of the bolt C when the latter is in engagement With the keeper,independent of the lever. To this .end there' is arranged in a recess Ain the bottom of the latch bolt, a spring B that has its rear end Cengaging the end N of the housing and has its forward end acting uponthe lever to hold it against the forward edge of the slot I. Preferablythe spring B is sleeved upon a shank D Which has a head E that directlyengages the edge of the lever F. By this arrangement the latch levernormally is held against the forward edge of the slot I by the spring Band the cut-away portion of the latch bolt is of suliicient length topermit the bolt C to follovsT up the keeper in the manner heretoforedescribed.

While I have shown and described a very desirable form of the invention,I do not Wish to limit my protection to the particular structureillustrated.

What I claim as my invention is l. In a latch, the combination of acasing plate, a housing thereon, a latch bolt slidably arranged Withinsaid housing provided with a recess, avlever pivoted upon said plate andextending through the recessed portion of said latch bolt, a springacting to project said latch bolt, the latter being provided with ahousing, a spring arranged Within said housing and engaging said lever,said spring 'acting normally to hold said lever in inoperative position,anda stop upon the casing against Which said lever is held by saidspring when in inoperative position.

2. In a latch, the combination of the casing,l a latch bolt providedwith a recess, a lever 'pivoted to said casing and extending throughsaid recess, a stop on the casing engaged by the lever When ininoperative position, there being a housing in said latch, a springarranged in said housing tending to project said latch bolt, the latterhaving a second housing communicating With the recess in the latch bolt,a member arranged in said second housing and engaging said lever, and aspring acting upon said member to normally hold said lever against saidstop, for the purpose described.

3. In a latch, the combination with the casing and a keeper, of a boltcarried by the casing for engaging the keeper, said bolt beingtransversely recessed and having a longitudinal recess communicatingWith the transverse recess, a spring acting on the bolt to displace ittowardthe keeper', a pivoted lever extending through said transverserecess to Withdraw the bolt from the keeper said lever being limited inits movement, and a coiled spring disposed in said longitudinal recessof the bolt acting upon the lever to maintain it normally in itslimiting position nearest adjacent the keeper.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

PETER J. WESOLOWSKI.

Witnesses:

J AMES P. BARRY, Piarrms COBURN.

